Tag Archives: The Stranger

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Song of the Day #6,493: ‘Get it Right the First Time’ – Billy Joel

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1977…

#2 – The Stranger – Billy Joel

I recently played today’s SOTD for my wife and she said she’d never heard it before. How could that be, I asked, when she’s a big Billy Joel fan and this is the eighth of nine tracks on The Stranger, arguably the greatest Billy Joel album?

It turns out she didn’t know the ninth song, ‘Everybody Has a Dream,’ either.

We realized that she never really listened to The Stranger as an album, despite being completely familiar with its first seven tracks.

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Song of the Day #4,570: ‘Vienna (Live)’ – Billy Joel

Continuing the chronological presentation of my 25 favorite songs…

‘Vienna’ – Billy Joel (1977)

Billy Joel’s The Stranger came out the same year as Rumours, a fact that doesn’t quite compute in my head. I think of Joel’s album as coming much later for some reason. That’s two all-time great albums in a single year. I look forward to seeing what else 1977 had to offer when I get there in my Decade series.

Four years contributed two songs to my list of 25 favorites, one each in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s.

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Song of the Day #3,216: ‘She’s Always a Woman’ – Billy Joel vs. Michael Penn

Today I embark on one of the most ambitious projects I’ve attempted during the almost nine years I’ve been posting a Song of the Day.

I was inspired by my favorite podcast, Filmspotting, which (inspired by March Madness) has run a Filmspotting Madness competition each year to determine the best [fill in the blank].

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Song of the Day #2,419: ‘Vienna (Live)’ – Billy Joel

billy_joelYou never know what your kids will latch on to.

A few weeks back, we had a family movie night and watched 13 Going On 30, an under seen and underrated 2004 film. It’s a “young kid in a grown-up body” movie starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, and in my opinion the best of its genre, topping even Tom Hanks’ Big.

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Song of the Day #2,121: ‘Vienna (Live)’ – Billy Joel

billy_joelBilly Joel’s ‘Vienna’ is a song that I tend to forget when compiling lists like this one.

But when I listen to it again, it feels like the only song in the world I’ll ever need.

It’s so beautifully written and performed, so expertly produced by Phil Ramone, and its message is so simple and profound. It’s truly perfect.

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